The present invention generally relates to hair attachment pieces. More particularly, the invention relates to individual, attachable curls, including, among others, hair-weft curls, French curls, spiral-curls, ribbons, fountain-shaped curls, fan-shaped curls, and wired-braids all created from a single commercially available weft of hair, where each curl is easily and rapidly attached to a patron's head to create, or replicate, nearly any desired hairstyle, including hairstyles that are impossible to achieve absent this invention. The curls, made and used according to the principles of the present invention, are especially appreciated by persons with shorter, finer, and/or otherwise unmanageable hair, including those who suffer from hair loss caused by disease or medications. The use of these curls provides for the creation of intricate hairstyles in a minimum amount of time, wherein creating those same hairstyles without these curls would be time consuming, if, indeed, they could be created at all.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
Wigs have been and still are used to augment hair deficiencies and/or for purposes of adornment. Hair deficiencies include: (1) damaged hair where such damage often occurs from too frequent bleaching, straightening, or curling, (2) naturally “thin” hair (Note: the term thin may refer to a head of hair that appears to suffer from hair loss or to hair that comprises hair shafts that are individually thin or to both conditions.), (3) hair that is too short for any styles that involve curls, and (4) hair loss due to age, disease, or medical treatment. Additionally, wigs may often be used simply for fun or to achieve a desired appearance.
The use of wigs can be traced back at least as far as the earliest days of Egyptian civilization when women often donned heavy, curly black wigs for ceremonial occasions. Much later, in the 18th century, the use of wigs, especially elaborate wigs, high coiffures, and highly decorated curls, became exceedingly popular. Today, although not as popular as they once were, wigs are still worn. Wig manufacturers create hair replacements that look as natural as possible. Even so, modern full wigs are still often heavy, hot, and uncomfortable, especially in warm and humid weather. Most present day wigs are permanently shaped and styled into a specific hairstyle that is not amenable to restyling. While some wigs may be styled into more than one particular hair style, they are extremely limited as to the number of hair styles that they can support.
Accordingly, the use of full wigs has been, at least partially, replaced by the use of smaller hair pieces intended to supplement a natural head of hair, rather than to replace it. Such partial wigs attempt to overcome the inconveniences of full wigs and the various shortcomings of the wearer's hair. Partial wigs are often relatively large tresses of hair of varying lengths that may be attached to one's own hair with ornamental combs, bobby pins, or hair clips, for example. Partial wigs are most frequently used to add body and/or length to one's natural hair to achieve a desired effect, which effect is not possible without the use of a partial wig. Although such hair-pieces may be more comfortable to wear than a full-sized wig (but, may not be depending on the method used to affix the hair-piece to one's head) they all suffer from the facts that either they are pre-styled in an unalterable hair-style or they are supplied unstyled and need to be styled for each use, i.e., washed, trimmed, set, and combed. Styling a hair piece takes just as much time and effort as styling a natural head of hair and, of course, the more complex the style, the more time it will take to achieve a desired style. Moreover, as partial wigs are relatively large and are usually of one color (e.g., blonde, brown, red, etc.), it is difficult to find one that is a good color match for one's natural hair. A good color match is important if one wants to conceal the fact that a partial wig is being used.
Despite all of the problems inherent in full wigs, partial wigs, and natural heads of hair that are lacking in some way, fashion conscious women still request hair stylists to provide them with hair styles that will make a desired fashion statement. Such fashion conscious women often search fashion magazines for the latest hairstyles or for hairstyles that offer a particular desired look. Photographs of models with elaborate hairstyles often entice patrons into asking the hair stylist to recreate the illustrated elaborate hairstyle for them. Sometimes such a recreation is possible. A few women are naturally endowed with a thick, luxuriant head of hair that is amenable to high-fashion styling, and for these women, hair stylists can probably recreate the illustrated hair-style desired by the patron. Such recreations, however, require a significant amount of time, and if the patron insists on an exactly identical creation, the styling may require even more time. Both stylist and patron will have to be willing to spend the extra time required to achieve the desired result. This means that patrons will have to spend more time than usual to obtain the desired results and stylists will not be able to accommodate as many patrons. Moreover, other patrons will not be happy with the length of time they have to wait for the stylist to finish the demanding recreation. Consequently, it is clear that there is a need for a method and means that would provide for a desired hair-style to be recreated in a reasonable amount of time so that patrons will be able to have the look they want without spending undue amounts of time and money in a beauty salon. This would also free-up time for hair-stylists, so that they will be able to schedule more patrons in a give amount of time, so that patrons will not have to wait for an unnecessarily delayed appointment.
Cost is certainly a limitation on the potential for achieving elaborate and intricate hairstyles using the techniques and products currently. Cost, as implied earlier, directly correlates with the amount of time involved in fashioning many styles. Providing a way to shorten the time it takes for a stylist to create intricate and complicated hairstyles would be a time and cost boon to hairstylists, as well as fulfilling consumer needs.
Most women, however, are not endowed with a head of hair that is thick, luxuriant and healthy. The majority of women have hair that is lacking either in fullness or in length. Persons with fine, thinning, or shorter hair often enter a salon with high expectations of leaving with a hair-style chosen from a fashion magazine only to be disappointed at the outcome. This dissatisfaction is not caused by a lack of skill of the hair dresser, but is the result of the fact the hair stylists are very limited in the styles that can be performed successfully with a head of hair that suffers from any or all of the above mentioned short comings. Under such circumstances, there is no chance for even the most gifted hair-stylist to duplicate a desired hair-style using only the hair available on a patron's head. Currently available hair attachments and accessories may allow some broadening of hairstyle scope, but these attachments and accessories all suffer to some extent from the problems mentioned above. Many beauty salon patrons would greatly appreciate a product that would enable hair stylists to recreate desired hairstyles that were previously unattainable due to the patron's poor natural hair conditions. Thus, it is clear that there is still a need for a hair embellishment technique or device that can further expand hairstyle possibilities and that can do so without requiring an undue amount of time.
Accordingly, it is abundantly clear that there is an as yet unmet need for a hair styling method and/or device that can overcome the discomfort and style limitations of full wigs as well as the time constraints and style limitations that smaller hair pieces currently face. Thus, it is clear that there is still a need for a hair embellishment technique or device that can further expand hairstyle possibilities and that can do so without requiring an undue amount of time.